Madison times. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1884-1???, 1887-01-29
THE GARROTE.
How Desperate Criminals Are Pat to Death In
spain.

A Madrid correspondent OF the New
Orleans Times-Democrat gives the fol-
lowing account of an execution III the
Spanish capital:
To-day, at 10 O'Clock in the morn
ing, Alvarez Olivia, the murderer OF
Juan Ximones, the notary, was gar
roted. As an enterprising tourist de-
sirous of seeing everything possible to
see, was present at the execution,
and / make the following haSty &C
count of the various incidents OF this
dismal holiday while not more than
two steps away from the place OF exc
cution.
use the word holiday sdly.
The foreigner who this morning be-
held the Puerta del Sol for the first
time would have thought Madrid had
gone wild with noisy merrIment, Just
as upon the occasion OF some royal
ceremony at the ancient Church OF An
tocha or of some great bull fight eX
hibition under the management OF
Garlic or Mazzantini.
The deploy OF military forces about
the scaffold was considerable. Icount-
ed no less than six detachnents OF dif-
ferent corps.
There were lancers with Prussian-
shaped helmets OF brass; gendarmes in
black with yellow straps and belts
and white trimmings; blue-uniformed
light cavalry; infantry; provincial
guards with red caps.
The martial department of these
men, nearly all young, strong and
handsome impressed me very much.
Now there is a great movement
around the scaffold. The soldiers
close their ranks and three men ap-
proach the scaffOld. One of them AS
cends it. 1t is the executioner. He Is
thin, low-sized, and looks about 40
| years old.
While waiting for his victim he keeps
walking nervously to and fro, with
hands behind his back and his head
| down.
From time to time he stops, and
| looks at the argolla, the 'garrote,"
with suspicious expression ofcounte-
nance. Perhaps he is afraid OF the
| power OF resistance possessed by the
| cervical vertebr9 OF Alvarez, and Is
therefore afraid of losing his bounty.
Noisy as it was little while ago,
| the crowd now suddenly becomes
| quite silent. Some women are turn
ing pale; and one can feel that a great
nervous excitement weighs upon the
| crowd.
A low rumbling is heard. 1t is the
| black carriage that bears the con-
| demned man. 1t stops at the foot OF
tie scaffold, and the prisoner is soon
pal nfully climbing the twelve high
steps OF the dismal scaffold, leaning
on the arm of a priest. Another
priest precedes HIM, lifting very high
an immense crucifix, toward which
the condemned man strives to strain
his terror.stricken face.
Alvarez Olivia is not yet % years
old, and it was generally believed that
the savage energy which he had dis
| played in committing his crime, to-
gether with his vigorous youth, would
| give him strength to face death.
| But nothing of the kind is shown by
him; and really it was too much to
expect OF a man who knew his fate
forty-eight hours ago, and who, while
| listening to the funeral chants in the
prison chapel, must have beheld all
kinds of hideous visions passing be-
fore him.
AS | stood on an elevation overlook
ing the scaffold, was able to observe
all the details of the last scene of the
tragedy.
The condemned man mechanically
yielded himself up to the executio1er.
The latter made him sit down at the
foot of the post, with his back to 1t,
and then tied his feet hard and fast.
He did all this without hurrying him.
self in the least, and with all that dig.
nified indifference which characterizes
the Spanish functionary in the dis
charge of his duty.
If the preparations had lasted only
few seconds longer, believe should
have lost all my own self-control.
could hear my heart humping In my
breast, and every moment or two
something like veil came before my
eyes.
You could not hear even a whisper
in the crowd. While one OF the priests
pressed a crufix to the colorless lips o.
the sufferer, another was murmurins
words of consolation and hope into
his ear.
But the wretched man was not list
ening. His expressionless face had q
waxen pallor, and his eyes, as they
wandered over the ocean of faces be
fore him, already seemed dim with the
dimness of death.
He started considerably when the
executioner placed the iron collar
about his neck; and | observed hi.
mouth contract. Then, however. 6
white covering thrown over his feat
ures hid them from further observa
ton. The executioner then gave tive
or three turns OF the screw connected
with the instrument of death. tn,
bones of the neck cracked, a Ion!
trembling ran through the Who'll,
body; the arms twisted outward, tn,
legs inward.
Alvarez Olivia was dead.
The priests took of their squar,
caps as il TO salute The soul passin
by; and the executioner removed tn
covering that concealed the deat
mans face.
The face, which had been so pallid
. moment before, was now purple. TIL
tumified tongue protruted from tn
mouth, and the bloody eyes hac